Surviving through lean times - Part 2

Having talked about how to cope with possible recessionary fallout by trimming expenses and boosting income in order to boost savings, here I'm going to share about how to prepare myself psychologically for it. I believe the psychology part of preparing for the recession could be much more important than just the material aspects. This is because the mind will cause us to feel about the same thing differently at different times. You know what I mean, sometimes bad news feel like the end of the world, sometimes bad news feel like a mosquito bite.

I think it's important to feel upbeat about the whole thing. Easier said than done of course. I know some people who had invested in the stock market and are facing huge losses. This makes them worried and everything seems all gloom and doom. Having been through a bout of depression last year for losing 30k (most are realised, some paper losses) I think I can understand how it feels. You'll feel that Death is upon you because of all the suicidal thoughts that creep into your mind, especially at night when there are no routine work to occupy your mind anymore. I'll just look at the windows and think what it's like to fall down and end it all. Relationships got strained pretty badly too as it's apparent that I'm radiating negative energy and pessimism outwards. If you feel that way, please please do seek professional help. Depression is not a joke and it's not fun, neither is it incurable.

Time took care of a lot of things and I became better over a period of 1-2 months. I personally did not seek medical help because I'm confident I'll survive through it. I'm pro life and not someone to end my life prematurely. Again, do take note I'm just sharing my experiences. For those who are in depression, do seek the proper help.




I realised that life is more than just your investment, and it takes 1-2 months of depression to learn that! So what if you lose 30k? You can earn it back in 2 years. If not, 3 yrs or 4 years. I start to value the little things in life. What matters is that you do not overleverage yourself in the process. It's a different story altogether if I had borrowed 20k out of the 30k, lost all my 10k and still owe someone 20k! Or if I had lost 30k, and I had no buffer to pay for my tuition fee or housing loans and such. That will really sting! Thus the big idea here is: Do not overleverage yourself, because when the tide comes in, everything floats and rise, but when the tide goes out, you might be left with nothing but a mountain of debts.

Personally, I feel that keeping 3-5 months of expenses in savings account of banks is good enough for me. That's because of the nature of my job. I won't be suddenly called in and get retrenched, hence my buffer zone can be smaller. But I think this kind of buffer, you have to think about how long it'll take from the time you get retrenched to the time you eventually got a job - that's the amount of expenses in months you need to get in ultra safe places. These are the untouchables. I think by locking up this piece of my assets, I'll get piece of mind.

It's very important to find a support network too. I understand that like stocks, our moods go up and down in cycles too. If you have a group of your most loyal fans (start looking at your significant other, than to your friends and family), who will stay on with you through thick and thin, through prosperity and sickness, I think you'll never feel down. It's like when you're down, you'll cheer them up, and vice versa. Call it mutual backscratching, but it works!

If you can't find a network, about how my cbox? I'll cheer you up, but make sure when I'm feeling gloomy, cheer me up too :)

(Suggested background music for reading this post: Try Louis Armstrong's version of La Vie En Rose here)